Irrigating device



. Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 19, 1966 732%. i ar/vzKsf Oct. 22,1968 0.A. WALLACE 3,406,907

IRRIGATING DEVICE Filed Sept. 19, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOIEK.

raw/4117K! Oct. 22, 1968 D. A. WALLACE 3,406,907

IRRIGATING DEVICE Filed Sept. 19, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

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United States Patent 3,406,907 IRRIGATING DEVICE David A. Wallace, 100Lewiston, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. 48236 Filed Sept. 19, 1966, Ser.No. 580,433 7 Claims. (Cl. 239-177) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Anambulant irrigating device in which a long horizontal pipe is rotatedabout a vertical water supply pipe. The weight of the horizontal pipe issupported at least in part by a long vertical plate disposed in verticalalignment with the horizontal pipe. Tension cables are positioned onopposite sides of the pipe and the cables, pipe and plate areinterconnected by brackets to form a relatively rigid rotary framework.In order to irrigate a full rectangular area the pipe is adapted to befitted at its outer end to stationary water distributing pipespositioned at the four corners of the rectangle.

This invention relates to irrigating devices and particularly to amobile irrigating device having a generally horizontal waterdistributing pipe adapted to be moved over crops or land to beirrigated.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile irrigatingdevice which is capable of spanning extreme lengths or distances for thepurpose of irrigating relatively large areas yet which is of relativelylight weight.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a mobileirrigating device which is inexpensive to manufacture, which isrelatively rigid for its length and weight, which is durable inconstruction, which is capable of accommodating itself to irregularitiesin the land over which it is moved, which is durable in nature, whichincorporates automatically retractable ground engaging supports, and inwhich the load is fairly uniformly distributed over the variousstructural components of the device.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anirrigating device of the above character which may be utilized toirrigate all portions of a substantially rectangular or square area withminimal modifications.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a mobileirrigating system capable of distributing a large volume of water in arelatively uniform manner over a substantial land area.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of an irrigating device embodyingthe principles of the present invention, the device being longitudinallyshortened for convenience of illustration;

FIG. 2' is a plan view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are enlarged sectional views of the structureillustrated in FIG. 1 taken along the lines 33, 4-4, 5-5, 66, and 7-7thereof, respectively;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view, partially in section, of a portion of thestructure illustrated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic plan view of a land area to be irrigatedshowing the position of the various water distributing pipes of thedevice illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 8.

The device of the present invention is particularly useful in relativelyarid regions which have a marginal or 3,496,997 Patented Oct. 22, 1968submarginal volume of rainfall but where an adequate supply of water is,nevertheless, available. By the use of the device of the presentinvention, land in such regions may be rendered suitable for thepropagation of a wide range of crops which could not otherwise be grown.

The device of the present invention is contemplated for use inirrigating relatively substantial areas of land. For example, the deviceillustrated herein is shown as having a substantially horizontal waterdistributing pipe 10 which may, for example, be 900 feet or more inlength. The water distributing pipe 10 receives water through a verticalstandpipe 12 to which water is delivered by an engine driven pump 14.The water may be pumped from a well, irrigation ditch, or any othersuitable source. The horizontal water distributing pipe 10 is fittedwith a plurality of sprinkler heads 16 which are adapted to spray waterfor a substantial distance on either side of the pipe 10. The pipe 10 issupported at its end remote from the vertical standpipe 12 by a drivewheel 18 which is driven by a water pressure operated motor 20. Themotor 20, which is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 6, may be ofany suitable type as, for example, the type shown in my copendingapplication Ser. No. 494,828, filed Oct. 11, 1965. As illustratedherein, the motor 20 receives water under pressure from the pipe 10 inorder to produce reciprocation of a piston 22 thereof. The reciprocationof the piston 22 oscillates a pawl 24 which produces intermittentangular movement of a ratchet 26 fixed to the wheel 18. As shown in FIG.6, the wheel 18 is journaled on an axle 28 supported at the lower end ofa hollow vertical pipe 30. The pipe 30 receives water from the terminusof the horizontal pipe 10 and delivers water therethrough to a sprinkler32 supported at the upper end of the pipe 30 and to a conduit 33 leadingto the motor 20. The vertical pipe 30 is a structural member ofsubstantial strength and is provided with a bracket 34 adjacent itsupper end which serves a purpose which will be hereinafter described.

The arrangement by which the vertical standpipe 12 is supported is bestshown in FIG. '8 from which it will be seen that the pipe 12 dependsinto a vertical casing 36 of greater diameter than the outer diameter ofthe standpipe 12. A plurality of resilient seals 38 are disposed betweenthe casing 36 and the pipe 12 to cushion the pipe 12 against deflectionand to prevent the leakage of water between the pipe 12 and the casing36. The casing 36 has a plate 40 welded therein adjacent its lower endwhich abuts a washer 42 carried by a, vertical rod 44 extending upwardlythrough the standpipe 12. The rod 44 has a nut 46 at its upper end whichabuts the upper surface of a plate 48 welded into the vertical standpipe12. By this means the rod 44 holds the standpipe downwardly againstwater pressure acting against the plate 48 and the upper end of the pipe12 (not shown). A substantial portion of 'the'weight of the standpipe 12and the weight of the horizontal pipe 10 supported by the standpipe 12is thereby supported :on a column of water under pressure received fromthe pump 14. It will be noted that the casing 36 is held rigidly inplace by adjustable cables 50. It will also be seen that a bracket 52 iswelded to the outer periphery of the standpipe 12 immediately above thecasing 36 and that this bracket serves to anchor the lower ends ofcables 54 which extend upwardly along the standpipe 12 and help preventbending of the pipe 12 under the load of the horizontal pipe 10 which iscarried by the pipe 12. The upper ends of the cables 54 are connected to"a bracket 56 secured to the upper end of the standpipe 12.

The invention disclosed herein relates principally to that portion ofthe device which is located between the standpipe 12 and the drivingwheel 18 and concerns itself with the means by which the horizontalwater distributing pipe and the weight of the water carried thereby issupported to prevent excessive sagging of the pipe 10 or deflection ofthe pipe 10 in a horizontal plane as the wheel 18 is driven and movesthe pipe 10 in rotation about the vertical axis of the standpipe 12. Thehorizontal distributing pipe 10 is comprised of a plurality of sectionshaving their adjacent ends disposed in interfitting relationship and oneend of the pipe 10 will be seen to be bolted to a fitting 58 provided onthe vertical standpipe 12. The opposite end of the pipe 10 is secured toa fitting 60 welded to the vertical pipe 30. The sections of thehorizontal pipe 10 are held together under a compressive load by meansof a pair of tension cables 62 which are fastened at one end to abracket 64 mounted on the vertical standpipe 12 and at their other endto a bracket 66 mounted on the vertical pipe 30. The cables 62 aredisposed on opposite sides of the horizontal pipe 10 and extendangularly downwardly from the opposite ends thereof toward the center ofthe pipe 10. The compressive load applied to the sections of the pipe 10by the cable 62 is sufficient to cause the horizontal pipe 10 to bowupwardly over its entire length between its opposite ends. The cable 62serves the additional function of resisting any tendency of the pipe 10to bend or deflect within a horizontal plane as the pipe 10 is driven byrotation about the vertical axis of the standpipe 12 by the drivingwheel 18.

At spaced points along its length, the pipe 10 is provided with brackets68 of varying shape. Each bracket 68 is clamped around the pipe 10 andhas a pair of parallel spaced-apart depending fiat wall portions 70.Secured between such wall portions 70 are a series of overlappingvertically disposed supporting plates 72. The supporting plates 72 areof minimal thickness in a horizontal direction transversely of the pipebut have substantial vertical height to resist sagging or downwardbending of the pipe 10. The plates 72 thus serve to reinforce the pipe10 and support it against vertical deflection. The plates 72 arearranged successively to form what may be regarded as one continuousplate. In this connection, it will be noted that fasteners 74 passingthrough the wall sections 70 serve to connect the overlapped plates 72and hold them rigidly together. Accordingly, when the pipe 10 is filledwith water, the weight of such water will apply a tensile loading on theplates 72.

Each bracket 68 will also be seen to include a pair of laterallyoppositely projecting bosses 76 around which a pair of suspension cables78 are strung. The cables 78 are hung from a transverse bracket 80 whichis supported at its opposite ends by a pair of parallel angularlyextending support cables 82. The support cables 82 will be seen toextend angularly above the horizontal water distributing pipe 10.

Turning now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the general arrangement of the supportcables 82 and the provision of intermediate ground engaging supports forthe horizontal water distributing pipe 10 will be seen. It will be notedthat vertical pairs of supporting members 84 and 86 are disposed atequally spaced locations along the pipe 10 between the verticalstandpipe 12 and the vertical pipe 30. The cables 82 are hung from theupper ends of the intermediate vertical supporting members 84 and 86 aswell as from the brackets 56 and 34. The cables 82 extend angularly anddownwardly from the bracket 56 toward the center of that portion of thepipe 10 between the vertical standpipe 12 and the vertical supportingmembers 84 beneath the bosses 76 of an adjacent pair of brackets 68, andthence upwardly and angularly to the upper ends of the verticalsupporting members 84. The arrangement of the cables 82 between the twopairs of vertical supporting members 84 and 86 is the same as thearrangement of the supporting cables 82 between the vertical supportingmembers 86 and the pipe 30, and also is the same as the arrangement ofthe cables 82 between the vertical supporting members 84 and thevertical standpipe 12. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the support cables 82pass directly beneath the bosses 76 of the two brackets 68 located atthe center of the portion of the pipe 10 between the several supportsfrom which the cables 82 are hung. The vertical suspension cables 78 arehung from cables 82 at locations intermediate to their upper and lowerextremities. It will be apparent that it is possible to hang any numberof vertical suspension cables 78 from the support cables 82, rather thanjust the illustrated single pair of cables 78 for each slope of thecables 82.

As will be noted by a comparison of FIGS. 3 and 4, the length of thedepending wall portions 70 of the brackets 68 difiFer from one another.The wall portions 70 become progressively longer the closer the brackets68 are to the center of the horizontal pipe 10, with the longest (in avertical direction) portions 70 being located at the mid length of thepipe 10. It will be also noted from FIG. 4 that a cross member 88 isprovided at certain of the brackets 68 located generally at the midlength of the pipe 10. The cross members 88 extend transversely withrespect to the plates 72 and are provided with openings through whichthe tension cables 62 pass to hold the tension cables 62 spaced apart atsuch locations a distance greater than their spacing at either thevertical standpipe 12 or the vertical pipe 30. The cross members 88 alsoassure a greater vertical distance between the pipe 10 and the cables 62at the mid length of the pipe 10 than at the opposite ends thereof.

The design of the intermediate ground-engaging supporting structureassociated with the members 84 and 86 is best illustrated in FIG. 7. Thestructure associated with the members 84 is the same as the structureassociated with the members 86 and, accordingly, the illustration of thestructure associated with the member 86 in FIG. 7 will suffice todescribe the structures associated with the supporting members 84. Itwill be seen that the vertical supporting members 86 have the form oftubes and are interconnected at their upper ends by a cross member 88.The supporting members 86 extend downwardly over lower tube members 90which are supported on a platform 92 that is connected at 94 to a springassembly 96. The spring assembly 96 supports a pair of groundengagingwheels 98 for rotation about axes parallel to the pipe 10, The wheels 98lie on the opposite sides of a vertical plane passing through the pipe10. It will be seen that the tube members 90 are interconnected by abracket assembly 100 adjacent their lower ends so that the two tubemembers 90 are held in perfectly parallel spaced relationship. A longcoil spring 102 is supported within each of the tube members 90 andextends upwardly into the adjacent member 86. Each coil spring 102 isseated at its lower end against an abutment member 104 resting on theplatform 92 and bears at its upper end against a spacer block 106 whichis positioned at the upper end of the vertical member 86.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the wheels 98 are arranged tosupport a portion of the weight of the pipe 10, the longitudinallyextending structure associated with the pipe 10 and the water carried bythe pipe 10. This is all accomplished through the springs 102. As thewheels 98 pass over a rise in the ground, the springs 102 will compressso that an unduly high load will not be transferred to such wheels. Tothis end the springs 102 desirably have a relatively low rate.

As may be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, an outlet pipe 108 is connected to thevertical pipe 30 and has a valve 110 incorporated therein. The outletpipe 108 is adapted to be connected to any one of four differentstationary vertical pipes 112, each having a fitting 114. As thehorizontal water distributing pipe 10 rotates about the vertical axis ofthe standpipe 12, it will move into alignment with the upper end of eachstationary pipe 112. Four stationary pipes 112 are desirably provided,one being located at each corner of the rectangular area to be servicedby the irrigating device. (See FIG. 9.) Each vertical pipe 112 isconnected to an arcuate horizontal stationary pipe 113 which nunsgenerally along the hypotenuse of each triangular area at the corners ofa square plot of land to be irrigated. Such a rectangular area isgenerally indicated at 116 in FIG. 9. The vertical standpipe 12 Will beseen to be located in the center of the area 116 and the circledescribed by the wheel 18 will be seen to be tangent to the sides of thearea 116. The stationary horizontal pipes 113 are disposed at each ofthe corners of the area 116 and they have a plurality of outlets 118adapted to merely distribute water onto the ground within corner areas120. As indicated at 122 in FIG. 1, the ground around each triangularcorner area 120 may be mounded up to contain the water delivered theretothrough the outlet pipes 118. During the time that the outlet pipe 108is connected to a given vertical stationary pipe 112, the motor 20 isdisengaged and the sprinkler heads 16 are closed. This is accomplishedby virtue of the fact that the sprinkler heads 16 are solenoid valvecontrolled, as is indicated by the construction illustrated in FIG. 5.Accordingly, each of the sprinkler heads 16 may be turned off by thesimple operation of an electrical switch. The horizontal pipe is left ina stationary position during the time that a given corner area 120 is tobe watered. After a corner area 120 has been watered, the coupling 114is disconnected, the valve 110 is closed, the sprinkler heads 16 areturned back on and the motor 20 is reactivated to resume the angularmovement of the pipe until it comes into alignment with the nextstationary vertical pipe 112. By this means an entire square area can beirrigated and an increase of approximately 27% is obtained in theirrigated land over the use of a device not having the stationary pipes112. It should be emphasized that the proportion of the partsillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 are grossly exaggerated in order tolongitudinally compress the device into the space allowed on the drawingsheet. In practice, the cables 82 are disposed at only a very slightangle to the horizontal. By way of example, the upper ends of the cables82 may be fifteen feet above the ground while the pipe 10 may be 900feet in length.

The irrigating device of the present invention is distinguished by itssimplicity of construction, the minimum number of parts required and theefficient utilization of the material associated with the horizontalpipe 10 in order to support the pipe 10 against downward deflectionunder the load of the water carried thereby and against snaking orlateral deflection in a horizontal plane during the movement thereofabout the vertical standpipe 12. The device is also distinguished by itsability to irrigate an increased area of land.

While the invention illustrated herein is well calculated to fulfill theobjects above stated, it will be apparent that the invention issusceptible of modification, variation and change without departing fromthe fair meaning or intended scope of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An irrigating device comprising a substantially horizontallyextending pipe adapted to carry water thereth-rough, a generallyvertically arranged elongated plate disposed in vertical alignment withsaid pipe, a pair of elongated tension members disposed on oppositesides of a vertical plane including said pipe and operable to apply acompressive load to said pipe and resist bending of said pipe in ahorizontal plane, and bracket means interconnecting said pipe, saidtension members, and said plate at spaced locations along the lengththereof and operable to maintain a predetermined spacing between saidpipe, said tension members, and said plate at said locations.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, including means connecting saidbracket means and said tension members to establish a predeterminedspacing between said tension members and said pipe at at least onelocation along the length of said pipe.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1, in which said plate comprises aplurality of plate sections joined together in overlapped relation atsaid bracket means.

4. The structure set forth in claim 1, including a plurality ofvertically extending support members for said pipe and at least onesupport cable hung from the upper ends of said vertical support membersand extending angularly and downwardly to said pipe at a locationintermediate said vertical support members.

5. The structure set forth in claim 4 including a plurality ofsuspension cables hung from said support cable and connected to saidpipe at the lower ends thereof.

6. An irrigating device including a generally horizontally extendingwater distributing pipe rotatable about a central water supply pipe,said horizontally extending pipe having sprinklers for delivering watertherefrom at spaced locations along its length, a valve and a fitting atthe end of said horizontally extending pipe remote from said supplypipe, and a plurality of stationary water delivery pipes at the cornersof a rectangular area to be irrigated, said stationary pipes havingmeans engageable with said fitting for the reception of water from saidhorizontally extending pipe.

7. The structure set forth in claim 6 including solenoid valves forselectively disabling said sprinkler heads.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 757,338. 4/1904 Nolting 239-2121,255,777 2/1918 Norton 239-177 2,477,748 8/1949 Hutchins 267-60 X2,564,996 8/1951 Rasbach 267-60 X 2,628,863 2/1953 Maggart 239-212 X2,642,311 6/1953 Beyer 239-213 X 2,691,522 10/1954 Brinson et al 267-602,889,948 6/1959 Leuenberger 239-212 X 3,001,727 9/1961 Zybach 239-1773,237,867 3/1966 Hogg 239-212 3,259,219 7/1966 Wallace 239-212 X FOREIGNPATENTS 204,422 9/ 1910 Great Britain.

SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

